Gillis says 'unfair to comment' on Tortorella's future

Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis sidestepped questions about coach John Tortorella's future, preferring to spread around the responsibility for this disappointing season.

Photograph by: Mark Blinch
, THE CANADIAN PRESS

WINNIPEG – Vancouver Canuck general manager Mike Gillis refused to address the future of embattled head coach John Tortorella Wednesday after emerging from league meetings in Boca Raton, Fla.

In a lengthy scrum with reporters, Gillis spoke at length about the team's wretched second half that will likely see the Canucks miss the playoffs for the first time in six years under his watch. But as far as the job security of Tortorella, he wouldn't go there.

"There is a lot of rumour and speculation out there and, for me to comment on it, would lend some degree of credibility to it, which is not something that is good for anybody," Gillis said. "When you're not performing up to a standard that you think is acceptable, it's never easy. I think right now we have to get behind our players and behind our coaching staff and try and win some hockey games."

When pressed on the Tortorella situation, and asked whether the coach was safe for the remainder of the season, Gillis provided roughly the same response.

"Again, that's rumour and speculation," he said. "I'm not commenting on that because it just lends credibility to what's out there with bloggers and all kinds of different people. So it's unfair to comment on any future plans other than what we've already said, which is we're trying to get younger, we're trying to re-tool and we're trying to do some things a little differently in the next 1-3-5 years."

While Tortorella has repeatedly accepted responsibility for the team's woes since early January, Gillis tried to deflect some of the blame elsewhere.

"John is an honest guy and he took responsibility but it's all of our responsibility," explained the GM. "I don't want to focus on John. We have a hockey team and an organization and, to focus on one or two people in that organization, is unfair. We have to win as a group. Every guy in that room has to win as a group and so to single out anybody is unfair and I'm not going to do that.

"To go from December where you win every game in the month to what's occurred since is remarkable. But there are some reasons. They're not excuses but we've had massive injuries this year and key guys out of the lineup for extended periods of time. You have an incident in January (Tortorella storming the Calgary room) that was hard to describe. It is what it is."

Gillis also wouldn't criticize Tortorella for perhaps over-playing the Sedin twins in the first half, and the possibility that led to their second-half injuries and decline in production. Daniel is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury but didn't have a goal in 22 games before he was hurt. Henrik scored his first goal in 23 games Monday and has been plagued by ribs and hand injuries.

"From top to bottom, our whole team has underperformed and it isn't a lack of effort and it isn't because of a lack of caring," Gillis said. "We've just had a very tough year for a lot of different reasons and we have a slight opportunity to try and right that ship and we're going to try do it by rallying behind them and by rallying behind our coaching staff - and that's all we can do.

"I'm not going to comment about specific coach-player situations (i.e. Sedins' ice time). It's unfair to everybody and there is all kinds of speculation what should have been done, what should have happened and what could have happened.

"Daniel and Henrik played without a guy (Alex Burrows) they played with for four years and has been an instrumental part of their line," Gillis continued. "There are lots of ideas about why certain players may be underperforming and it's unfair to me to look at it in a capsule and look at one reason why. There are multiple reasons why and we have to sort them out. It's our responsibility to fix them and find a way to win. Obviously we've struggled with that but we're still on the job trying to find ways to win."

Gillis concluded on a somewhat ominous note, which likely won't help Tortorella and others who have been part of the team's decline sleep any better.

"Right now, we're not meeting my expectations and we're not meeting a lot of people's expectations," Gillis said. "And that has to change."

Tortorella, speaking to reporters pre-game here in Winnipeg, was asked if he was aware of the GM's remarks.

"No, no," he replied. "As I say, I'm worried about the hockey club. That is my job, to coach this team and this is what I'm focused on."

He reiterated that, in any case, he blocks out the distractions.

"I live under a rock, always have for eight months out of the year," he said. "All that other stuff around us, it's part of the business."

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